Thursday, July 17, 2014

Master Growth Hacking Analytics

Good growth hacking depends on the scrupulous use of data to make decisions that will ultimately stimulate business growth. Learning how to use data in order to lead your company towards growth is no small feat: it takes persistence, practice, creative thinking and analytical chops.

Luckily, many top marketers and growth hackers have published tips, guides and thought pieces on how to do growth hacking analytics.

This resource guide compiles the best articles I’ve found on how to approach analytics with a growth mindset. Whether you’re new to growth hacking and looking for ways to learn about how analytics fits in or you’re a seasoned growth hacker who just loves nerding out on this stuff, there’s enough material here to keep you busy for a while.

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1. The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking – Neil Patel’s comprehensive guide to Growth Hacking is a must-read for any marketer interested in focusing on growth. The book covers all aspects of growth hacking, including analytics. Chapter 4 talks about the growth hacking funnel, and Chapter 10 deals with analytics terminology and the various tools available.

2. Video: Lean Analytics: One Metric That Matters (OMTM) – Alistair Croll (author of Lean Analytics) explains how your startup can find its ‘One Metric That Matters’. The YouTube description succinctly describes the focus of the video: “By measuring and analyzing as you grow, you can validate whether a problem is real, find the right customers, decide what to build, and how to monetize it.”

4. The Beginner’s Guide to Startup Analytics – “Metrics are what ground startups in facts and logic.” Shanelle Mullin of Onboardly explains how analytics fit into early and mid-stage startups and when to incorporate growth analytics into your marketing.

8. Zero to Product/Market Fit (Presentation) – In this presentation Chen explains what product/market fit looks like from a numbers standpoint. A lot of people talk about about product/market fit and metrics like DAU/MAU without providing a concrete idea of what healthy numbers look like, so I found this presentation especially helpful.

9. Startup Metrics for Pirates – Dave McClure originally coined the term Pirate Metrics in this famous presentation, which outlines the AARRR framework for effective startup analytics. The slideshare is useful for both new companies getting started with analytics and more established companies looking to streamline how/what they measure.

14. Viral Growth and Analytics – While the Viral Growth and Analytics feed on Quora leans more towards discussions about growth strategy than analytics, there are a few analytics-focused questions mixed in, and it could be a great place to post any questions you have about analytics and growth.

Use Google Analytics Like A Growth Hacker

Google Analytics is one of the many tools marketers can use to measure growth, and it by no means gives you all the information you need. But it is the most written about––and there’s no doubt it will be a part of your analytics mix––so here are a few articles that focus on using it to measure and accelerate growth.

Find The Right Tools

Aside from Google Analytics, what other analytics tools can help you excel at growth hacking?

18. 14 CRO Gurus Share Favorite Optimization Tools – This is a great overview of tools recommended by the top marketers working on conversion optimization. In addition to an explanation from each expert about why they like particular tools, the post includes a tally of all tools mentioned, ordered according to popularity.

20. Growth Hacker Bundle – This bundle of apps includes some of the best tools for growth analytics available. The bundle is sold out, but if you’re researching potential tools it’s helpful to see which were included in this collection (they’re some of the best!).

21. 5 Crucial Weapons for Your Growth Hacking Arsenal – The folks at Speek say that having a mix of great tools at their disposal played no small part in their rapid growth. In this blog post they review the five main tools they use in order to nurture growth.